Staff Meeting Rituals that Build Trust and Community
This practice offers opening and closing prompts for building trust and community among staff at meetings.
Level:
Duration:
Planning For It
When You Might Use This Practice
- At the beginning and end of staff meetings
- To build a cohesive staff
- Before tackling a challenging topic with staff members
Time Required
- 5-10 minutes
Materials
- None
Learning Objective
Participants will:
- Foster interpersonal and group trust through opening and closing meeting rituals
Additional Supports
SEL Competencies
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Management
- Social Awareness
- Relationship Skills
- Responsible Decision-Making
How To Do It
Reflection Before the Practice
Before starting the meeting, take a moment to take a few deep breaths and check in with yourself about how you’re feeling. Then, call to mind something you’re looking forward to. Does this brief moment of taking care of yourself give you a more positive outlook towards the upcoming meeting?
Instructions
At the Beginning of the Meeting
Choose either a community building activity or a check-in statement from the list below as a welcoming ritual to open a meeting.
- Community building:
- Choose an open-ended question, such as “What is something you are good at and why?”, “What would constitute a perfect day for you?”, or “What kindness has a friend or colleague shown you recently?” Here are some of our favorite sources for questions:
- Greater Good In Action “36 Questions to Increase Closeness”
- 52 Essential Conversations Cards
- Fetzer Conversation Cards
- We Connect conversation starters
- Have participants share their response with a partner.
- After sharing, ask for two to three comments from the whole group.
- Choose an open-ended question, such as “What is something you are good at and why?”, “What would constitute a perfect day for you?”, or “What kindness has a friend or colleague shown you recently?” Here are some of our favorite sources for questions:
- Check-in:
- Begin with a sentence starter. Here are some suggestions:
- “A success I recently had was _________”
- “One thing that’s new about _________”
- “One norm I will hold today is_____________”
- Begin with a sentence starter. Here are some suggestions:
At the End of the Meeting
Close with an optimistic closure.
- Have participants reflect on a question and then name something that helps them leave on an optimistic note, such as celebrating a student’s success or acknowledging the good work of a staff member or highlighting the progress being made on a challenging issue.
- Examples of reflective questions:
- “What are my next steps?”
- “What’s the next conversation I’m going to have about this and with whom?”
- “Who do I want to connect with about this topic?”
- “A word or phrase that reflects how I feel about moving forward with this…”
- Offer an appreciation for someone in the room.
- “I’m eager to learn more about…”
Source
Adapted from an activity created by Oakland Unified School District’s Department of Social-Emotional Learning and Leadership.
Reflection After the Practice
Do you notice a shift in how connected staff members feel to each other during the school day and/or at subsequent meetings?
The Research Behind It
Evidence That It Works
A study of reform efforts in 12 Chicago schools found that enabling positive, trusting relationships among staff members, including the leadership, were at the heart of school improvement.
Why Does It Matter?
Trusting relationships among the adults in a school form the foundation of a safe and caring school climate. In order to build trust, research suggests several key facets must be present between people, such as a willingness to be vulnerable, holding benevolent intentions towards others, and being open with information. Surfacing shared values and finding ways in which diverse groups of people are alike can also help cultivate trust.
Meeting rituals can help cultivate these relationships by providing a supportive structure in which adults can share honest, personal thoughts, feelings, and ideas with each other.
“Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work.”
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